Continuous Video Capture Glasses

ABSTRACT

A set of glasses frames includes electronic components for video capture and is configured to continuously capture video in a twenty-second loop. On the frames is a capture button that, when pressed, causes the electronic circuitry to store the prior twenty seconds and the following twenty seconds, for a total of forty seconds of video in non-transitory memory. The electronic circuitry in the frames also includes a Bluetooth radio and a Wi-Fi radio, enabling the frames to communicate with a mobile device, and more particularly to provide the saved twenty-second video clips to an app running on the mobile device. The app allows for storage of the video clips on the phone, editing of the video clips, upload of the video clips to the Internet, and configuring user-adjustable settings on the electronic circuitry of the glasses.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. Utility patent applicationSer. No. 17/536,962 for “Continuous Video Capture Glasses,” filed Nov.29, 2021, and currently co-pending, which is a divisional of U.S.Utility patent application Ser. No. 17/087,290 for “Continuous VideoCapture Glasses”, filed Nov. 2, 2020, and currently co-pending, which isa divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/293,462for “Continuous Video Capture Glasses,” filed Mar. 5, 2019, andcurrently co-pending, which in turn claims the benefit of priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/638,820 for “ContinuousVideo Capture Glasses,” filed Mar. 5, 2018, all of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains generally to video recording. Moreparticularly, the present invention pertains to a glasses-mounted videorecording apparatus. The present invention is particularly, but notexclusively, useful as a device for continuous video recording.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the 1980s, camcorders have brought video making capability within thereach of an ever-increasing number of consumers. Recording originally tovideocassettes in an analog format, camcorders later acquiredcapabilities for digital video recording. With the changes in recordingformat came smaller sizes, lower prices, and improved video quality,resulting in increasing popularity of video production among consumers.The popularity of consumer video production has been further increasedby the development of sharing and distribution channels, starting withtelevision programs such as “America's Funniest Home Videos,” and morerecently video-sharing websites such as YouTube.

Meanwhile, the nature of consumer video production has changed—or ratherbroadened. Consumers are no longer limited to the use of dedicatedcamcorders; still cameras and mobile phones have acquired videorecording capabilities and enjoy widespread consumer use. Moreover,specialized cameras, including action cameras such as those sold byGoPro, Inc., enjoy popularity among consumers desiring hands-freerecording of their activities from a first-person perspective.

Most recently, wearable technology with video recording capability hasreceived significant promotion in the marketplace, although itsreception by consumers has been less than enthusiastic. The lack ofsuccess is due in part to the low battery capacity of such devices,which significantly limits the amount of video that can be taken withoutdraining the battery.

In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a videorecording device configured for convenient recording in a first-personperspective in situations in which an action camera is unnecessary orunwanted. It would be further advantageous to provide such a videorecording device configured for hands-free recording. It would befurther advantageous to provide such a device with sufficient batterylife to record multiple hours of video between charges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A set of glasses frames includes electronic components for video captureand is configured to continuously capture video in a twenty-second loop.On the frames is a capture button that, when pressed, causes theelectronic circuitry to store forty seconds of video in non-transitorymemory—that is, to save the twenty seconds of video prior to pressingthe capture button along with the following twenty seconds of video.

The electronic circuitry in the frames also includes a Bluetooth radioand a Wi-Fi radio, enabling the frames to communicate with a mobiledevice, and more particularly to provide the saved twenty-second videoclips to an app running on the mobile device. The app allows for storageof the video clips on the phone, editing of the video clips, upload ofthe video clips to the Internet, and configuring user-adjustablesettings on the electronic circuitry of the glasses.

As seen in the above diagram, the glasses include a battery (or a pairof batteries, one on each arm of the frames) serving as a power sourcefor the various components. A processor manages the operation of thevarious components. A camera, which may be composed of a charge-coupleddevice (CCD) and supporting circuitry, including a microphone,continuously captures video with at least 1080p resolution. Althoughostensibly managed by the processor, the camera may write to the workingmemory using Direct Memory Access (DMA) to reduce the workload on theprocessor.

The storage in the video is laid out as follows: From device activation,media is written to a circular buffer storing h.264 data in the device'sworking memory. This buffer can hold up to 20 seconds worth of mediabefore it overwrites itself with new media. When the user motions forthe device to save the media, the buffer is resized to store anadditional 20 seconds worth of media for a total buffer size of 40seconds. This happens so that a continuous stream of media is saved from20 seconds before and 20 seconds after media saving is initiated. Oncemedia has filled the 40 second buffer, the device converts and saves thedata as an mp4 file with a generated filename. After, the buffer isresized to resume capturing 20 seconds of media in a circular buffer.Data conversion, file storage, and resumed storage of media input in the20 second buffer happen immediately in succession to ensure that thedevice is constantly recording and that no content is lost.

The capture button on the frames initiates a transfer of the previoustwenty seconds of video from working memory—as well as the next twentyseconds being stored to the rest of the extended buffer—to thenon-transitory memory. This is generally implemented by configuring thebutton to signal an interrupt to the processor when pressed, which isthen handled by a software procedure to initiate the memory transfer.Additionally, at the time the capture button is pressed, the systemallocates memory for an additional 20 seconds of media so that recordingmay continue while the transfer is taking place, and ultimately so thata total of 40 seconds of media is stored. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radiosfurther allow for communication with an external computing device, suchas a mobile phone, running an app to store, edit, and upload the videosfrom the glasses and configure user-adjustable settings on the glasses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of this invention, as well as the invention itself,both as to its structure and its operation, will be best understood fromthe accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdescription, in which similar reference characters refer to similarparts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of continuousvideo capture glasses;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the continuous video capture glasses ofFIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of continuousvideo capture glasses with eye-tracking apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of various electronic components of the continuousvideo capture glasses of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating various components of preferredembodiments of the continuous video capture glasses of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of the memory layout for the video recording bufferof the continuous video capture glasses of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart describing the process of continuous videorecording as performed by the continuous video capture glasses of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart describing the process initiated when a userpresses the capture button on the continuous video capture glasses ofFIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart describing the process initiated when a userpresses the capture button twice on the continuous video capture glassesof FIG. 1 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of continuousvideo capture glasses is shown and generally designated 100. Glasses 100comprise a left temple 110 having a left temple housing 112 and a righttemple 120 having a right temple housing 122. An camera 130 with animage sensor 131 (not shown in FIG. 1 ) is shown mounted on the bridgeof glasses 100, but in some embodiments is placed on the front of theleft temple housing 112 (that is, the end of the temple housing nearestthe wearer's eye), or the front of the right temple housing 122. In apreferred embodiment, image sensor 131 is an active pixel sensor(“APS”), though alternative embodiments it is a charge-coupled device(“CCD”). It will be apparent to one of skill in the art that otherimaging devices may be used without departing from the scope and spiritof the invention. A microphone 132 is also present in preferredembodiments of glasses 100.

Glasses 100 continuously capture video from image sensor 131 and audiofrom microphone 132. When a wearer presses a button 134 on the glasses100, the most recent twenty (20) seconds of captured video and the nexttwenty (20) seconds of captured video are stored in a file.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , the glasses 100 additionally compriseelectronic circuitry 140 in order to capture and store the video fromimage sensor 131 and audio from microphone 132. Some major components ofthe electronic circuitry 140 are discussed in greater detail inconnection with FIG. 4 . The electronic circuitry 140, includingbatteries, and in some embodiments excepting the image sensor 131 and/orthe microphone 132, is housed in left temple housing 112 and righttemple housing 122. By including a housing for batteries and otherelectronic components on both left temple 110 and right temple 120, agreater amount of space is available for storage of electrical energy(that is, the batteries), allowing the glasses 100 to operatecontinuously, and, more particularly, to capture video continuously fora substantial amount of time: several hours in preferred embodiments.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , eye-tracking technology has traditionally beenconfined primarily to research, especially in neuroscience andpsychology research, safety-related research and engineering, and inmarketing research funded by large commercial enterprises. As a result,an emphasis has been placed on precision and accuracy, and much of theavailable technology is not only expensive, but also requiresspecialized training to use. A unique aspect of a preferred embodimentof the present invention is the importation of eye-tracking technologyinto the field of consumer photography and video capture. Moreparticularly, eye-tracking technology incorporated into a preferredembodiment of glasses 100 is used to automatically focus the camera 130at an object being observed by a user.

Not every movement of the eye needs to be tracked, since it is desirableto focus the camera 130 only on objects upon which the eye fixates atleast momentarily, rather than to continually refocus with every suddenjerk of the eye. Also, even a fairly rough estimate of eye positionprovides surprisingly good results, since generally the object to whichattention is given is not extraordinarily small, thus there is a certaindegree of flexibility in selecting the point of focus. As a result, theeye-tracking apparatus used can be relatively inexpensive, having arelatively low sampling rate and a relatively low resolution. For thesame reasons, the need for calibration can be avoided for most users,although calibration routines are provided in a preferred embodiment forusers that may desire greater accuracy. It is fully contemplated thatthe eye-tracking features may be implemented in combination with all thefeatures of the other embodiments of glasses 100 described herein.

In a preferred embodiment, an eye-tracking apparatus includes aninfrared light source 142 and a camera 144 mounted on the frame ofglasses 100 around a lens, or a location where a lens would be locatedin a normal pair of glasses, as some embodiments of glasses 100 do nothave lenses. It is sufficient to use a low-resolution camera 144, suchas a camera that provides images of 1024×768, 800×600, or even 640×480pixels. Light from infrared light source 142 reflects from the cornea ofa user. The corneal reflection and pupil are identified in a frameproduced by camera 144 using pattern-recognition software; the pupilcenter is estimated, and a vector from the pupil center to the cornealreflection is calculated. This vector is used to estimate the directionand angle to which the user's eye is turned, and thus the approximatedirection in which the user is looking.

Outdoors, reflections from sunlight may interfere with the detection ofthe corneal reflection, so the software falls back to estimating gazedirection based on the pupil center alone. This results in a small lossof accuracy, but is usually sufficiently accurate for use in focusingthe camera 130. Some embodiments improve the accuracy of the fallbackmethod by estimating, based on the shape and location of the eye in thecaptured frame, the point where the pupil would be when the user isgazing forward.

In an alternative embodiment, the infrared light source 142 is omittedentirely, and the above-described fallback calculations are the primarymethod for eye-tracking and selecting the point of focus for camera 130.

The eye-tracking apparatus may be on either lens or side of the glasses100, and in at least one embodiment, an eye-tracking apparatus is oneach side of the glasses 100. The availability of embodiments witheye-tracking apparatus on either side may allow the glasses 100 to bemore useful to people with certain eye-related disabilities. Theavailability of embodiments with eye-tracking apparatus on both sidesmay also allow the glasses 100 to be more useful to people with certaineye-related disabilities, and further allow greater accuracy in theeye-tracking features of the glasses 100.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , various electronic components of glasses 100are shown. A power source 150, comprising batteries in a preferredembodiment, powers the various other electronic components. In apreferred embodiment, the power source 150 is capable of storing atleast one-thousand (1000) mAh of energy, which allows for at leastbetween seven (7) and ten (10) hours of recording time. In somepreferred embodiments, power source 150 includes one or twouser-removable and replaceable batteries, allowing a user to carry sparebatteries for the glasses 100. A processor 152 runs software managingthe operation of the glasses 100. Supporting the processor isnon-transitory memory in the form of working memory 154, such asrandom-access memory (RAM), comprising one or more buffers for videostorage. Working memory may also include read-only memory (ROM), inpreferred embodiments in the form of electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), containing instructions operated on by theprocessor 152 and causing it to execute processes to control theoperation of glasses 100, including the processes described herein.Alternatively, in some embodiments some or all of the programscontaining instructions operated on by the processor 152 are stored instorage 156 and may be loaded into working memory 154—usually RAM—asneeded in order to execute the program instructions. Although processor152 generally manages the capture of video and its storage in workingmemory 154, in some embodiments dedicated circuitry associated with theimage sensor 131 and microphone 132 (not shown in FIG. 4 ) place thevideo and audio into the video storage buffers using Direct MemoryAccess (“DMA”) in order to alleviate the burden on the processor 152. Inother embodiments, software running on the processor 152 formats thecaptured video and audio using H.264 encoding for storage in the videostorage buffers; some such embodiments use a processor 152 havingmultiple cores in order to enable the processor 152 to simultaneouslyundertake other tasks as necessary. Multiple processors 152 may alsosubstitute effectively for the presence of multiple cores in a singleprocessor 152.

A preferred embodiment uses one keyframe, or I-frame, every twenty-two(22) frames in encoding the video, which is stored at twenty-two (22)frames per second and 1080p resolution, for storage in the video storagebuffers. These settings strike a balance allowing for reasonably goodvideo quality to be stored in a reasonable amount of space. Nonetheless,other embodiments are adapted for differing needs related to the amountof video detail stored and the amount of memory available for bufferspace, and include embodiments with more and less frequent I-frames,including embodiments with variable number of I-frames per second,embodiments with frame rates other than twenty-two frames per second(such as thirty frames per second and sixty frames per second), andembodiments with different resolutions (such as 720p, 1080i, and 4K).

When the capture button 134 is pressed, the processor 152 immediatelyallocates memory space for an additional twenty (20) seconds of video,into which the continued capture of video and audio is stored.Meanwhile, the video and audio from the previously allocated buffer isstored as a file in storage 156, which comprises non-transitory memoryfor long-term data storage, such as flash memory. The video and audiofrom the newly allocated memory space is also saved as the next twenty(20) seconds of video is captured, resulting in a forty-second storedvideo file. Since the saved video begins from the first availablekeyframe in the buffer, the runtime of the stored video may varyslightly, but will differ from forty seconds only by a negligibleamount: The difference will be less than one second.

An external I/O component 158 allows the glasses 100 to communicate withan external device 160, such as a mobile device, running software 162,such as an app downloaded to a mobile device, for communicating withglasses 100. In preferred embodiments, external I/O component 158includes at least one wireless radio, for example, one or both of aBluetooth radio and a Wi-Fi radio. When a connection to an externaldevice is active, once a video file has been stored in storage 156, itis transferred to the external device through external I/O component158. In preferred embodiments, the external device will have softwareproviding video editing and upload features, allowing the user to editthe transferred video and upload it to the Internet.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , a conceptual diagram illustrates variouscomponents of preferred embodiments of glasses 100. FIG. 5 provides asomewhat different emphasis on the structure and certain features ofpreferred embodiments of glasses 100, therefore not all elements of FIG.4 are shown in FIG. 5 , nor are all elements of FIG. 5 shown in FIG. 4 .Nonetheless, it should be understood that elements not shown are presentin at least some preferred embodiments, and are only omitted for spaceand simplicity in presentation.

Illustrated in FIG. 5 is an I/O multiplexer 170, which may include DMAhardware to facilitate video storage with minimal burden on theprocessor 152, as discussed above. Multiplexer 170 allows the variousdevices integrated into glasses 100 to communicate with the processor152. In some embodiments, a processor 152 may have several I/O pins andglasses 100 may have a limited number of devices that need tocommunicate with processor 152; in some such embodiments the devicessimply communicate through the I/O pins on the processor 152, andmultiplexer 170 is not present.

An accelerometer 172 is present in some preferred embodiments of glasses100, and is used to implement features such as automatic saving of videoand digital image stabilization. In a preferred embodiment, glasses 100can be placed into a “dash cam mode” in which the previous twentyseconds of video and the following twenty seconds of video are storedwhen a sudden acceleration is detected via the accelerometer 172, as ifthe capture button 134 had been pressed. A sudden acceleration is ameasurement by accelerometer 172 above a predetermined magnitude in apredetermined axis or axes, based on parameters programmed into glasses100.

A light 174 on left temple 110, right temple 120, or both, illuminatesfrom back to front indicating that video capture is in progress. Asdepicted in FIG. 5 , light 174 is used, in a preferred embodiment, witha light sensor in order to dynamically adjust the light 174 brightnessbased on the ambient light. In a preferred embodiment, the brightness ofthe light 174 is lowered in darker environments, in which a particularlight source is generally perceived more easily. The corollary is thatlight 174 would be brighter in a well-lit area, retaining its visibilityto an observer. In a preferred embodiment, the light 174 moves orextends corresponding to the placement of video into working memory 154,as further discussed below. In a preferred embodiment, light 174 is madeof a row of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Light 174 in some embodimentsis on temple housing 112 or 122 rather than directly on the temple 110or 120.

An image stabilizer 176 is present in some preferred embodiments. Apreferred embodiment of image stabilizer 176 is a sensor-shift imagestabilizer that moves the image sensor 131 as necessary to compensatefor shaking of the glasses 100. In some embodiments, image stabilizationmay be performed by processor 152 through cropping the frames receivedby the image sensor 131, a digital signal processing (DSP) program, orboth. Digital image stabilization through cropping or through a DSPprogram and hardware image stabilization through image stabilizer 176are not mutually exclusive, and some embodiments use both forms of imagestabilization.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , the layout of a circular buffer 200 is shown.The length of buffer 200 is sufficient to hold at least twenty (20)seconds of video data, including audio in preferred embodiments. Otherembodiments may store audio in a separate buffer 200. Buffer 200 has abeginning address 202 in memory, an ending address 204, a data endaddress 206, and a data start address 208. If beginning address 202 istracked with a pointer, ending address 204 may be determined by either apointer, or a length or offset from beginning address 202; data endaddress 206 and data start address 208 can likewise be determined byeither a pointer or an offset from beginning address 202. Moreover, inembodiments in which the video and audio are captured uncompressed at afixed bitrate, a separate data start address 208 need not be tracked,since after twenty (20) seconds of operation of the glasses 100, it willbe the same as data end address 206. However, in preferred embodimentscompression is used, and the portion of the buffer 200 used for twentyseconds worth of storage varies. When the portion of the buffer 200 usedvaries, data end address 206 and data start address 208 will generallynot be the same.

The pointer for data end address 206, or data start address 208, or bothare used for determining the portion or portions of light 174 that arelit up. Light 174 is thus lit up to correspond with the data beingplaced into buffer 200.

During use of the glasses 100, data end address 206 is continuouslyadjusted toward the ending address 204 of the buffer 200 as data areadded to the buffer 200. Once data end address 206 reaches the endingaddress 204, it is updated to point to the beginning address 202 of thebuffer 200, and continues onward toward ending address 204, repeatingthe cycle throughout the period of use of the glasses 100. Likewise,data start address 208 undergoes a similar progression upon reachingtwenty (20) seconds of operation of the glasses 100.

Referring now to FIG. 7 , the principal steps in the process ofcontinuous video capture as performed by glasses 100 are shown andgenerally designated 220. Process 220 is generally performed byprocessor 152 in conjunction with other components of the glasses 100,but, as mentioned above, in some embodiments some or all of the stepsare performed by separate circuits attached to the image sensor 131 andthe microphone 132 through Direct Memory Access.

In step 222, raw video and audio data are collected from the imagesensor 131 and the microphone 132. In step 224, the raw video and audiodata are encoded; in a preferred embodiment, the data are encoded in acompressed format, using the H.264 format. In certain embodiments usingDMA, a “raw” or uncompressed format is used for simplicity. In step 226,the encoded data are placed in a buffer 200 (or, depending on theformat, a set of buffers 200) beginning at the data end address 206.Then, in step 228, the data end address is incremented to point to thenext available address in the buffer 200. Since a circular buffer 200 isused, the presence of old data ready to be overwritten does not preventan address from being the next available address. The data start address208 is also updated, in step 230, so that it falls at the portion ofvideo data corresponding to twenty (20) seconds prior to the portion ofvideo just added to the buffer in step 226. The process 220 is thenrepeated, beginning again at step 222 with the next segment of videodata. Process 220 thus runs in a loop while the glasses 100 are inoperation.

Referring now to FIG. 8 the principal steps in the process of storingcaptured video are shown and generally designated 240. Process 240 isinitiated when the wearer presses button 134, and, in some preferredembodiments, through other means such as sudden acceleration, or througha signal from software 162 generated at the user's request. For example,A mobile device 160 may be a smartwatch (usually in addition to a mobilephone), and software 162 running on the smartwatch provides a userinterface feature engageable by the user to signal glasses 100 to beginprocess 240. Once button 134 is pressed or process 240 is initiated inanother way, process 240 begins with step 242 of allocating memory toextend the buffer 200 to hold an additional twenty (20) seconds ofvideo. Then, in step 244, the current data end address 206 is saved (forexample, in a predetermined register of processor 152) and the data endaddress 206 is updated to point to the new portion of the buffer 200. Acopy of the data start address 208 is also saved at this time, thusmarking the boundaries of a twenty (20) second span of video forstorage. The update of data end address 206 causes process 220 to storenewly captured video in the newly allocated portion of the buffer 200,thus avoiding loss of any video while storing the twenty (20) secondsprior to the pressing of button 134.

In step 246, the twenty (20) seconds of video between data start address208 and data end address 206, as calculated using the old boundaries ofthe buffer 200, are saved to a file in storage 156. As the new portionof the buffer fills up, the next twenty (20) seconds of video is alsosaved to the file in storage 156. Then, in step 248, the old portion ofthe buffer 200 is deallocated. The deallocation may be performedgradually so that twenty (20) seconds of video is always maintained, ormay be scheduled to occur twenty (20) seconds after the allocation ofthe new portion of the buffer 200, or even forty (40) seconds after theallocation of the new portion of the buffer 200 when it is desirable towait until the forty-second video file is saved to storage 156. When aconnection to an external device, such as mobile device 160, isavailable, step 250 is performed, involving the transfer of the storedfile to the external device.

Referring now to FIG. 9 , some preferred embodiments of the glasses 100allow a user to double-press button 134, or press button 134 a secondtime during the twenty (20) second period before step 248 of process 240in order to continue saving video until the user presses button 134 athird time.

The second press of button 134 causes the glasses 100 to loop theinitial steps of process 240 as depicted by process 260, allocatingadditional memory for the buffer in step 262, which may include greateramounts of memory than in step 242 in order to avoid frequentallocations of additional memory, updating the relevant pointers in step264, saving the buffer contents to a file in step 266, and deallocatingportions of the buffer which are no longer needed in step 268, all in asimilar fashion to the corresponding steps of process 240. Theseoperations are continued until the button is pressed in step 270, atwhich point any unsaved contents of the buffer are placed into the fileand the file is closed in step 272. As in process 240, when a connectionto an external device, such as mobile device 160, is available, step274—analogous to step 250—is performed, involving the transfer of thestored file to the external device. Step 274 in process 260 (or step 250in process 240) may be performed simultaneously with other steps, forexample, if a connection to an external device is available at thebeginning or early on in process 260 or 240.

While there have been shown what are presently considered to bepreferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can bemade herein without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A continuous video capture apparatus, comprising:a camera; a capture button; and video capture circuitry, comprising: aprocessor, and a computer-readable medium containing instructions thatwhen executed cause the processor to: receive raw video data from thecamera; encode the received video data; place the encoded video in abuffer at a data end position; update the data end position to a nextavailable address in the buffer; and update a data start position to alocation corresponding to a predetermined amount of video time behindthe data end position, wherein the capture button is configured, uponreceiving a single press, to cause the processor to: allocate memory toextend the buffer to support an additional predetermined amount ofvideo; save the current data end position and update it to point to anextended portion of the buffer; save the contents of an original portionof the buffer to file; add the contents of the new portion of the bufferto the file; deallocate the old portion of the buffer; and send the fileto an external device.
 2. The continuous video capture apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising an eye-tracking camera, wherein theelectronic circuitry is configured to acquire images from theeye-tracking camera, estimate a gaze direction of the user, and focusthe video capture camera on an object in the gaze direction.
 3. Thecontinuous video capture apparatus of claim 2, further comprising aninfrared light source, the infrared light source configured to generatea corneal reflection in the images from the eye-tracking camera, whereinthe electronic circuitry is configured to estimate the gaze directionbased on a pupil center and a location of the corneal reflection.
 4. Thecontinuous video capture apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a userremovable and replaceable battery.
 5. The continuous video captureapparatus of claim 1, further comprising an accelerometer.
 6. Thecontinuous video capture apparatus of claim 5, wherein upon detection ofa sudden acceleration, the accelerometer is configured to cause theprocessor to: allocate memory to extend the buffer to support anadditional twenty seconds of video; save the current data end positionand update it to point to an extended portion of the buffer; save thecontents of an original portion of the buffer to a file; add thecontents of the new portion of the buffer to the file; deallocate theold portion of the buffer; and send the file to the external device. 7.The continuous video capture apparatus of claim 1, further comprisinglong-term data storage space to which files are saved from the buffer.8. The continuous video capture apparatus of claim 7, wherein thelong-term data storage space comprises flash memory.
 9. A continuousvideo capture apparatus, comprising: a battery; a camera; a capturebutton; and video capture circuitry, comprising: a processor, and acomputer-readable medium containing instructions that when executedcause the processor to: receive raw video data from the camera; encodethe received video data; place the encoded video in a buffer at a dataend position; update the data end position to a next available addressin the buffer; and update a data start position to a locationcorresponding to a predetermined amount of video time behind the dataend position, wherein the capture button is configured, upon receiving asingle press, to cause the processor to: allocate memory to extend thebuffer to support an additional predetermined amount of video; save thecurrent data end position and update it to point to an extended portionof the buffer; save the contents of an original portion of the buffer tofile; add the contents of the new portion of the buffer to the file;deallocate the old portion of the buffer; and send the file to anexternal device, and wherein the capture button is configured, uponreceiving a double press, to cause the processor to: execute a loop inwhich the processor: allocates memory to extend the buffer, saves thecurrent data end position and update it to point to the new portion ofthe buffer, saves the contents of an original portion of the buffer to afile, adds the contents of an extended portion of the buffer to thefile, and deallocates the old portion of the buffer; terminate the loopwhen the capture button is pressed an additional time; finish saving theencoded video data and close the file; and send the file to an externaldevice.
 10. The continuous video capture apparatus of claim 9, whereinthe battery, the camera, the capture button, and the video capturecircuitry are mounted on a set of glasses frames.
 11. The continuousvideo capture apparatus of claim 10, further comprising an eye-trackingdevice attached to the glasses and configured to focus the camera in thedirection of a gaze of a user.
 12. The continuous video captureapparatus of claim 11, wherein the eye-tracking device comprises aneye-tracking camera mounted on the glasses, and wherein the eye-trackingdevice is configured to acquire images from the eye-tracking camera,estimate a gaze direction of the user, and focus the video capturecamera on an object in the gaze direction.
 13. The continuous videocapture apparatus of claim 12, wherein the eye-tracking device furthercomprises an infrared light source mounted on the glasses, wherein theinfrared light source is configured to generate a corneal reflection inthe images from the eye-tracking camera, and wherein the eye-trackingdevice is configured to estimate the gaze direction based on a pupilcenter and a location of the corneal reflection.
 14. A continuous videocapture apparatus, comprising: a power source; a camera; anaccelerometer; a capture button; and video capture circuitry,comprising: a processor, and a computer-readable medium containinginstructions that when executed cause the processor to: receive rawvideo data from the camera; encode the received video data; place theencoded video in a buffer at a data end position; update the data endposition to a next available address in the buffer; and update a datastart position to a location corresponding to a predetermined amount ofvideo time behind the data end position, wherein the capture button isconfigured, upon receiving a single press, to cause the processor to:allocate memory to extend the buffer to support an additionalpredetermined amount of video; save the current data end position andupdate it to point to an extended portion of the buffer; save thecontents of an original portion of the buffer to file; add the contentsof the new portion of the buffer to the file; deallocate the old portionof the buffer; and send the file to an external device, and wherein upondetection of a sudden acceleration, the accelerometer is configured tocause the processor to: allocate memory to extend the buffer to supportan additional twenty seconds of video; save the current data endposition and update it to point to an extended portion of the buffer;save the contents of an original portion of the buffer to a file; addthe contents of the new portion of the buffer to the file; deallocatethe old portion of the buffer; and send the file to the external device.15. The continuous video capture apparatus of claim 14, wherein thepower source comprises a battery.
 16. The continuous video captureapparatus of claim 15, wherein the power source further comprises asecond battery located separately from the first battery.
 17. Thecontinuous video capture apparatus of claim 14, further comprising anexternal I/O component for communicating with the external device. 18.The continuous video capture apparatus of claim 17, wherein the externalI/O component comprises a Bluetooth radio.
 19. The continuous videocapture apparatus of claim 14, further comprising long-term data storagespace to which files are saved from the buffer.
 20. The continuous videocapture apparatus of claim 19, wherein the long-term data storage spacecomprises flash memory.